A New Beginning
by Selena Shepard
Summary: Katherine Shepard. N7 Alliance marine, Butcher of Torfan, first human Spectre, Savior of the Citadel. Status: KIA. At least, that's what the Alliance and the Council believes. Little do they know that those they consider enemies, Cerberus, brought back the best soldier in the Alliance fleet and the galaxy's only hope for survival. Little does the Commander know what will happen.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So, I've wanted to do this for a while. For those of you reading Mass Confusion, I'm still working on it. I just have a major case of writer's block. This is the story of my headcanon Shepard, Katherine Shepard. I'll try to multitask and update both fics at the same time.**

**Enjoy! R&R!**

* * *

**Chapter 1- The Attack **

"Ash, get everyone to the escape pods!" Katherine says as she puts on her breather helmet, flames engulfing her surroundings, explosions sounding off in the distance.

"Are you serious?! I'm not leaving you Shepard! And Joker won't leave the Normandy."

"I can take care of Joker. Now go!"

"Shepard, I-"

"I know." Shepard said, turning to fully face her gunnery chief. "I do too. But this is much more important than the two of us. Now go."

After a moment of hesitance, Ashely nods. "Aye, aye." And with that, she leaves to help the crew.

Wires hanged from the ceiling as Shepard made her wayq to the cockpit. Taking a right to get to the CIC, she felt her mag-boots activate as the force of gravity threatened to send her floating off the ship. The CIC was a disaster. The ceiling was torn to shreds, pieces lay haphazardly about the galaxy map, which was also in disarray, blinking and spinning sporadically.

Joker sat in the cockpit protected by a force field that allowed some gravity to keep him in place, typing commands and sending messages to the Alliance for help.

Help.

Shepard didn't have time to think who was attacking them. Or why. She just needed to get her stubborn pilot off that chair and into an escape pod.

Finally she reached him, crossing the threshold of that separated the now-torn CIC and the mostly intact cockpit. "Joker, we have to get out of here!"

"No! There's still hope! I can save her!"

"Joker, the Normandy's gone. Going down with her won't change a thing." Shepard said, a hand over Joker's shoulder.

"Yeah. Alright." Joker answered after a moment of pondering. "Help me up." A final glance at the screens told Joker of grave news. "Oh no. They're coming around for another attack."

Turning, Shepard saw as a laser cut through the entire ship, literally cutting it in half. After the beam stopped, she quickly went to grab Joker, getting him a bit too tightly. "Arg! Watch the arm!"

Shepard helped the witty pilot up and made their way to the last escape pod. As Joker crawled in, the attacking ship made another run. The blast was too close for comfort, and Katherine was thrown away from the pod.

"Shepard!" cried Joker as his Commander held onto the panel of pod. Slipping and no longer able to hold, Shepard pressed the release button just before another explosion went off, sending her flying away from the pod and into the expanse of space.

_This isn't how I planned on dying. Why is it…harder…to breath? _

Reaching to the back of her armor, Katherine felt as oxygen began to escape her suit. Struggling, she began to vainly try to cover the holes that must have been caused by the explosion. Her breath became ragged, deep, slowly coming to a stop.

_I'm sorry, Ash…_

The last image the commander saw was her ship, torn to pieces. The last feeling: regret. And a hot, painful burn.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- Revival **

"The numbers are good, Lawson." Wilson said, handing a datapad to Miranda. "I checked everything."

After reading the information on the datapad, Miranda looked up. "It just doesn't seem right, Wilson."

"Miranda, it's not going to get any better. Besides, the boss wants this finished."

"Fine. But I know something's wrong."

"Relax. It's fine. I'm waking her up."

_This is the most important thing in the galaxy. It can't go wrong._

Wilson moved to the terminal as Miranda Lawson moved to the med table where the commander laid bare, covered only by a white, thin sheet. The project was going exceptionally well. The cybernetic implants to restore Shepard's health were functioning properly, stats seemed to be normal, everything seemed perfect.

But Miranda knew something was wrong.

When Miranda Lawson has a feeling that something is wrong, it's wrong. There's no other way to look at it. Pinpointing the error, however, was proving to be a challenge for the Cerberus operative.

Not a challenge, Miranda thought, just a hindrance.

Looking up to see Wilson typing away at a terminal, Miranda spotted the 'hindrance' on another monitor.

"There." She spoke. "On the monitor. Something's wrong."

Wilson rushed to Miranda's side to see what she spoke of. "Brain activity is off the charts! She's reacting too quickly."

"Give her a sedative. Now!" Miranda ordered, pushing Wilson aside to get to the med bed. Shepard weakly raised an arm and slowly opened her eyes, squinting. "Don't try to move, Shepard. Just stay calm." Miranda said as she gently lowered the commander's arm.

"Her heart rate's dropping, it's not working!" Wilson yelled, typing frantically at a terminal, making Miranda look up.

"Give her another dose!" Looking back down at Shepard, she tried to further calm her. "Lie still, commander. Breathe."

Slowly, Katherine's breathing became slower, slowing to a smooth, leveled breathing. Miranda sighed in relief as the commander began to close her eyes.

"Stats are dropping to normal levels." Wilson said.

_Idiot, I was right. _"I told you something was wrong. Run the numbers again."

* * *

Dream after dream passed through her mind, looking into a dark abyss. At least, she thought they were dreams. A woman suddenly appeared. Dark-hair, imposing stance.

_ Who is she? She seems so familiar. _

She didn't know what this place was. This dark, lonely place. She knew she had to get out. She had to…do something. What, she did not remember.

**_Shepard… Shepard, can you hear me? _**

Shepard. She had heard that name before. She seemed to remember something about that name. Name… she was Shepard. Strange name…

**_Commander, you need to wake up!_**

Wake. Yes, she had to leave this place. Who was calling her? Why is that voice calling her 'commander?'

Commander. Commander Shepard, Alliance Navy, Council Spectre. Everything came rushing towards her in a tumultuous wave of memories. The Alliance, the Council, the Reapers. Her crew, her…love. Ashley. The woman from earlier.

The dark abyss shook and began to slowly become bright. Too bright.

"Commander, wake up. Shepard, this facility is under attack, you have to get up!"

Shepard quickly opened her eyes, though quickly regretting it as the bright white light hit her eyes. Her skin seemed tight, her muscles tense, her limbs heavy. Sitting up, her side began to ache as the muscles and bones moved in concert to raise her stiff body.

"Shepard, grab the weapons and armor from that locker in front of you. Hurry!"

The voice sounded familiar but Shepard didn't have time to think as her instincts kicked in and she got off the bed. Quickly putting on the black and red armor, Shepard checked the pistol.

"This pistol doesn't have a thermal clip." She said, hoping the voice on the other side of the intercom could hear her over all the explosions that seemed to be going off.

"It's a med bay." The woman stated annoyingly. "We'll get you one from- Shit, those canisters near the door are going to blow. Take cover behind something." The woman urged.

Shepard ran toward some crates and took cover just before the canisters blew, sending bits and pieces towards Shepard's direction. Standing, the commander spotted a body by the door leading to the rest of the station. _Probably a doctor… _She made her way to him and saw a thermal clip next to him. She took it and inserted it into her pistol. _Hopefully, there's more lying around here. Can't have too few of these…_

"Someone hacked security and is trying to kill you. Head over to the evac area. I'll guide you."

"Can you tell me your name at least? I don't want to scream 'Hey, you!' at the ceiling every time I get lost."

"Miranda Lawson. Up ahead, there's a barricade. Just jump over it."

Another door opened, revealing the barricade Miranda mentioned. Jumping over it, Shepard spotted another thermal clip near a crate. _Better get it before-_

"Look out!" Miranda warned. _–before something like that happened._ Shepard quickly dispatched the mech by shooting its cybernetic head off. She quickly grabbed the clip she spotted earlier and began making her way up some stairs where the corpse of the mech lied.

"Keep moving. You have to get to those shuttles."

Passing bodies that littered the room, Shepard opened a door that led to an observation room. Broken monitors flickered and sparked, pipes above were engulfed by flames. Whoever caused this wanted the whole station gone.

_With me as well… _

"Mechs are trying to open the locked door. Take cover and prepare." Miranda spoke.

Taking a quick glance at the door in question, a small flicker could be seen running down. Shepard wasted no time and took cover behind some medical equipment. The door opened with the recognizable swish and mechs poured out.

One.

Two.

Three.

Three headshots, three mechs. Checking if the coast was clear, a side door opened, where two more mechs appeared. Shepard quickly made a scrap heap out of them and made her way to the door once the door was clear.

The next place Shepard came across after leaving the observatory was a small elevator, likely leading to the offices. On the platform, a grenade launcher laid next to the body of a security officer.

"More mechs." Miranda said. "Grab the grenade launcher and prepare yourself."

As soon as Shepard kneeled to grab the weapon, mechs began to approach from the door a level below the soldier. Shepard quickly took cover by the handrail that luckily had some cover below it. After checking that there were, in fact, grenades in the weapon, Shepard stood, aimed and fired. The explosion of the mech caused two more to explode, creating a chain of explosions and destroying all the mechs. In the process, however, a fuel tank erupted, creating a barrier of flames.

"Nice work, Shepard." Shepard's guide said. "Take the elevator down one floor then sprint to the exit."

Hoisting the grenade launcher to her back, the N7 soldier made her way to the elevator and went down a floor like her mysterious guide had instructed. Shepard didn't know what to think about this Miranda nor did she have the time to ask. The whole place was crawling with mechs, she has to focus on surviving.

Getting off the lift, Shepard made her way to the door, feeling a slight burn in her face as she sprinted by the barrier of flames.

"You're doi-…. Shep-….Meet me at-…"

"Miranda? Lawson, are you there?"

"Shepard, can you-…..mechs….posit-"

_Shit. Maybe I'll come across her. _

Now depending on her own self, Shepard made her way through a hallway. The mechs seemed to have dispersed elsewhere since the only ones she came across were malfunctioning and promptly self destructed. After coming across a few files about a "subject" and using biosynthetic means to heal them, Shepard entered a room and was greeted by gunfire.

_I'm getting sick of all this shooting and not knowing where the hell I am..._

"Shepard?" she heard from amongst the shooting. A dark man was fighting some five mechs on his own, but seemed to be pit down. Shepard rushed to his side, shooting at the mechs at the same time.

"Things must be a lot worse if Miranda has got you up and running." the man said. "I'm Jacob Taylor, been stationed here for -"

"Hostiles detected." a mech announced, cutting off Jacob.

"Damn it!" Jacob cursed as a bullet passed him, barely missing his unprotected head. He peeked over the cover before standing at full hight and shooting one of the mechs, landing the hit square in the mech's head. "Wanna lend a hand here?" he said as he crouched back down.

"I'm tired of taking orders without knowing what the hell is going on! I just woke up and ever since, I've been shooting things. Can you at least tell me how the hell I ended up here?"

Jacob nodded, somewhat nervous at Shepard's tone. "Alright. I'll give you the quick version. You and your ship were attacked. You didn't survive the attack. We've spent the last two years rebuilding you. Welcome back to the world of the living."

Shepard was stunned. Two years? "That's...I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this."

"Yeah, I can imagine." Jacob said over the gunfire. "Look, let's clear out these mechs. I'll then play 20 Questions with you all day."

"Right." Shepard nodded, going into soldier mode.

"We're low on thermal clips, but I'm a biotic. Just say the word when you want me to hit them with the good stuff." he stood and blasted one of the mechs with a lift, sending it flying upwards.

Shepard peeked out of cover to survey the area. Four mechs, with one more coming out of a door. She took cover again and went through a plan quickly in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she stood and began firing at the mechs. She picked them off quickly until only one remained.

"Jacob, now!" she ordered.

She could see blue from the corner of her eye as Jacob powered up for another lift, sending the last mech spinning upwards. Together, Jacob and Shepard took it down, metal falling onto the ground as the mech exploded mid-air. Doing a quick run over, the commander saw no more hostiles and holstered her pistol.

"Alright." Jacob began as he holstered his own weapon. "I said I would answer your questions. What do you want to know?"

_I want to know everything. I just don't know if I'll like the answers..._

"The last thing I remember is getting my pilot onto an escape shuttle. Did anyone else make it?"

"The majority of the crew made it out alive. A few men in engineering didn't, nor did Pressely. But the rest of your crew, the asari Liara and the quarian, they made it."

"What about Gunnery Chief Williams?"

"She did too. Not sure where they are now, though."

_Damn..._

"Hopefully I can find them when we get out of here. Onto another subject, you said they spent two years rebuilding me?"

"Yes. Best doctors and technology in the galaxy money could buy."

"What kind of technology? Cloning? Cybernetics?"

"I don't know the details, you'd have to ask the scientists. But I'm pretty sure you're not a clone. They wanted to bring you back just the way you were. Even that was a challenge."

"How bad was I when they brought me in?"

"When I first saw you, you were nothing but meat and tubes. Project Lazarus worked on reconstructing you."

"Project Lazarus? That's what they called it?"

"I wasn't in charge of naming it. But yes, that's what they called it."

There were still a few blank spaces that needed to be filled, but for now, it was enough.

"What's the quickest way to those shuttles?" Shepard asked.

"Through here." Jacob said, pointing to a door behind him. "We should-"

_**Check, check. Anyone on this frequency? Hello? Anyone still alive out there?**_

Jacob raised his omni-tool, clearing the incoming transmission. "Wilson? This is Jacob. I'm with Commander Shepard."

_**Shepard's alive? How the hell...? Never mind, you need to get to the shuttles. I'll try to make a path for you.**_

"Alright. Stay on this frequency, Wilson."

"I think I- Oh, shit I forgot about her." Shepard stated.

"Forgot about who?" Jacob asked.

"There was a woman helping me to get here. Miranda Lawson. We lost radio contact as she guided me. I heard gunfire and an explosion right before I lost her."

"Miranda was in charge of the Lazarus Project. She's tough, maybe we'll catch up to her. Come on."

Shepard and Jacob made their way through a small, dark hallway. At the end, Shepard opened a door, revealing a room with more mechs.

_I'm getting really tired of these mechs..._

"Damn it, Wilson! This room is crawling with mechs." Jacob said.

_**The whole station is crawling with mechs. I'm doing the best I can!**_

"Tell him to do better!" Shepard exclaimed over the gunfire as she shot an attacking mech. Between the the biotic and the soldier, the mechs ended up as a scrap heap in record time.

"Wilson," Jacob began once the mechs had been taken care of. "find us a path to the shuttles. Preferably one that doesn't leas to an enemy squad."

_**Just keep moving. And don't get pinned down. I'll see what I can do.**_

The duo made their way out of the small room. As soon as they exited, Wilson's voice came over the radio again.

_**Oh, god. They found me! Help!**_

"Where are you, Wilson?" Jacob asked.

_**Server Room B! Hurry, they're out of control!**_

Jacob pointed to a flight of stairs. "Up those stairs, Shepard."

**_Oh, god. I'm hit! They shot me!_**

Shepard doubled up her pace, practically flying up the stairs.

* * *

"Bastards got me in the leg!" Wilson cried. Shepard and Jacob found him on the floor, a leg of his shot.

"There's some medi-gel on the first aid station, over there." Jacob said, pointing at the first aid kit. The commander grabbed it and applied it to Wilson's injured leg.

"Never thought you'd be saving my life. Guess that makes us even now, huh?" Wilson slowly stood, flinching as the wound ached.

"What are you even doing here, Wilson?" Jacob asked.

"I was trying to fix this mess, but whoever did this fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."

"You were in the bio wing. How do you even have security clearance?"

"I-"

"Listen, you two." Shepard interrupted. "I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of this station. Why don't we just get the hell out of here?"

"Right." Wilson said. "We have to get to the shuttle bay."

"Miranda's still on the station. We have to find her." Jacob said.

"Miranda was in D wing, mechs were all over the place there."

"A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda! She's alive."

"Then where is she? Why haven't we heard from her? There's only two conclusions: she's either dead, or she's a traitor."

Shepard groaned. "Can we sort out who killed who later? This Miranda must be around here somewhere. She was headed to the shuttle bay as well. We might find her in the way. Now, let's get the fu-"

"Hostiles detected." Mechs alerted, cutting off Shepard.

"Great..."

Shepard and the others began to shoot at the wave of mechs that had hacked the door open. Wilson took out his omni-tool while crouching behind a crate and overloaded some explosive canisters near the attacking mechs, sending all of them into an explosive end.

"Alright." Jacob began. "Things are getting tense. Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?"

"This really isn't the time, Jacob." Wilson intervened.

"I agree, for once." Shepard said. "Just tell me quickly. The Alliance? Some private organization from Earth?"

"The Lazarus Project," Jacob explained. "The program that helped rebuild you. It was funded and organized by Cerberus."

_Cerberus?! Kohaku..._

"Are you serious?! Are you telling me I was brought back to life by fucking terrorists?!"

"A lot of people think that. But we're not. We help humanity."

"Bullshit!" Shepard spat. "I saw what you're sick experiments did to people. You people were responsible for Akuze, for the death of an Alliance admiral. Those were humans! Killing humans doesn't help humanity."

"I wasn't part of those things, Shepard. None of us were. When we get out of here, the Illusive Man will explain things."

"That you're boss? When we meet him, he better answer my questions. All of them."

* * *

"The shuttle bay is just through-" A woman stood at the door when Wilson unlocked it. "Miranda? But you were supposed to be-"

Wilson's limp body dropped to the floor, a bullet crossing his throat. The woman lowered her gun. "Dead?"

"What the hell are you doing, Miranda?!" Jacob asked, stunned at the scene.

"My job. Wilson betrayed us." Miranda replied.

"Do you really think he was capable of that?" Shepard asked.

Miranda looked at the body at her feet then back to Shepard. "...Not anymore."

"Alright. We found you, you killed Wilson. I guess the Illusive Man is waiting for us, right?"

"Ah, Jacob." Miranda turned to him. "I should've known your conscience would get the better of you."

"Lying to the commander isn't the way to join our cause." he defended.

_'Cause'... There better be a good fucking reason why they brought me back..._

"Well, since we have everything out in the open, is there anything you want answered, commander?" Miranda asked.

"No. I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime."

"Or two, in your case. Come on."

The trio boarded a shuttle and left the burning station to meet the Illusive Man. Shepard was silently preparing to meet the head of these...people.

* * *

A/N: Longest. Chapter. Ever. Written. *Deep breath* Oookaaaayy... I finally got my butt sat down and got to write this. For those of you wondering about Mass Confusion, I'm on it. Just... Wait. There's been a lot of crap going on IRL, so just wait. Please. You guys are all awesome for still favorite-ing and following both MC and this story after a super long wait. Cookies and candy for y'all!


	3. Chapter 3

** The Illusive Man**

The shuttle ride was quiet, leaving Shepard to think about the events that occurred. Specifically, the people she was involved with. Shepard had done some pretty nasty things during her life. Most notably, Torfan. She, however, had better reasons than "it helps humanity." It was a personal debt. Cerberus, though?

Cerberus was on top of Shepard's shit-list. Did they think bringing her back from the dead would make her forgive all the messed up things they did? Did they think she was as ruthless as them because of her reputation?

"Before you meet our boss, we need to ask some questions to evaluate your condition." Miranda spoke, bringing the commander's mind back from her thoughts.

"Now?" Jacob asked.

"We should've done weeks of testing. Shepard could be unstable. This will have to be enough."

"So, basically," Shepard began. "You want to know if I'm sane?"

"Basically." Miranda shrugged slightly.

"You're shit outta luck. I'm as crazy as they come."

"I'm sure there's some basis of intellect in that brain of yours." the Cerberus operative replied. "I'm think I remembered to put it in there."

Shepard snorted. "Let's hope so. Ask your questions."

Jacob activated his omni-tool and read something before lowering his arm. "Records say you were born on Earth, no parents. You enlisted at age eighteen with the Alliance. You lost a crew after you were attacked while investigating a planet in the Traverse. A few years later, you were chosen to lead a squad on Torfan, where you killed a group of bunkered down batarians. Do you remember?"

How could I forget?

"I remember. Those bastards were hard to get to. I lost some good men and women down there. It just had to be done."

"See, Miranda?" Jacob said, turning his head to face the woman. "The memories are there."

The operative hummed before speaking. "What about the previous attack? In the Traverse?"

Shepard looked down, eyes closing. The memory was burned into her brain, there was no way she would forget. Nor would she let herself. After a moment, she looked back up.

"The fact that I remember doesn't mean I'll share the details. I remember, that's all you have to know."

"Ask another." Miranda ordered Jacob after a moment.

"When you were taking out Saren, a cloning facility was destroyed. Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko died in the blast. Why'd do leave him behind?"

Shepard's face hardened at the memory. The most difficult decision she ever had to make: Ashley or Kaidan. "I didn't do it on purpose. I spent a lot of time with the Normandy crew, they were the second group that I considered family. Kaidan was part of that family. But I had to choose. I chose Kaidan to stay behind."

"I wasn't judging your decision, Commander. Everyone at Cerberus knew that cloning facility had to be destroyed." Jacob said to Shepard. He turned once more to face his coworker. "Satisfied, Miranda?"

"Almost. Let's try something more recent. On the Citadel, after letting the Council die, you were given the choice to choose between two candidates for a human councilor. Who did you choose?"

"I chose Anderson. We're going to war, we need someone specialized in dealing with those kinds of things." she smirked before continuing. "The look on Udina's face... Priceless."

"The memories are there, Miranda." Jacob said after writing something on his omni-tool. "I can vouch for her combat skills personally."

"Let's hope the Illusive Man accepts our little field test as evidence enough." Miranda commented.

The trio fell into silence again, leaving Shepard to her own thoughts.

* * *

"The Illusive Man is waiting for you." Miranda said, pointing at a door.

The station seemed to be isolated from what Shepard could tell. No mass relay led here, nor were there any nearby planets. As soon as they landed, Shepard saw the Cerberus logo emblazoned on every wall and corner. It's like they wanted to be reminded who they worked for.

Deciding that she had no choice but to meet this man, the N7 soldier made her way to the room. The door swished open, revealing a dark room with a large blue circle in the center of the floor. She entered and began looking around, seeing no one and nothing. Standing in the center of the circle, nothing happened at first.

_Why is nothing- Oh, shit. What the...?_

An orange light rose from the circle, surrounding her. The dark room slowly materialized into another place. In front of her, a man sat in a chair, cigarette in hand.

"Commander Shepard." he spoke, blowing smoke from his mouth.

"Illusive Man. Too much of a coward to meet personally?"

"Not cowardice, merely a precaution. Not unusual for people that know what you and I know."

"First things first. Why did you bring me back? You, of all people. You have my records. You should know I have a strong hate towards your...organization."

The Illusive Man stood, his fingers never leaving the cigarette. "We're at war. No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack. Colonies are disappearing, leaving no trace of the inhabitants or of their assailants. You're the only person who knows those that would do something like that."

"The Reapers."

"Glad to see your memory's intact."

"Cut the act. I wouldn't believe you were actually concerned."

"But I am. I need you to be well."

Shepard crossed her arms. "You mentioned colonies disappearing?"

The Illusive Man takes a long draw of the cigarette before continuing. "Yes. We believe it's someone woking for the Reapers. I need you to investigate the disappearances."

"Why would Cerberus fight a war? What do you get out of it?"

"Humanity is being attacked. Cerberus is committed to the advancement and preservation of humanity. If the Reapers are behind these attacks, we will stop them. If we wait for the Alliance or the Council to act, it will be far too late."

"Why isn't the Alliance doing something? They must know."

"They do know about the missing colonies. However, they're overwhelmed by the responsibility you gave them. They're too busy building relations that they instead blame the disappearances on pirates or slavers. We're the only thing that can stop the Reapers."

"This doesn't make sense." Shepard frowned. "Why would the Reapers attack a few colonies? Sovereign wanted to harvest the entire galaxy."

"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have been taken. That fits the definition of 'harvest.' No one pays attention because they're random and remote. If Cerberus doesn't act now, there won't be any human colonies left."

_He seems serious about this... Maybe he isn't lying... And he really wants me to do this... Shit._

"If what you're telling me is true and the Reapers are actually targeting us, I'll help."

"I'm glad to see you saw reason." the Illusive Man said, turning and returning to his chair.

"Just let me be clear: I'm doing this to help people. Not for Cerberus."

"So be it. Just remember who brought you back." he took another draw at the cigarette before continuing. "I have a shuttle waiting for you to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."

"I'll find something to stop the Reapers. No more colonies will be taken on my watch." Shepard said, her voice strong.

"Good. Anything that you find, we can use. Who's abducting the colonists? Do they have connections with the Reapers. I brought you back, it's up to you to finish this."

The hologram blurred and disappeared, leaving Shepard alone in the dark room.

_Well, this day just gets better and better... Time to save the galaxy. Again._

* * *

AN: So, I was halfway through the Freedom's Progress mission and I realized it was going to be way too long of a chapter. So I split it. Still not done with the next part but almost. Thanks a billion to my reviewers, followers, and favs. I love me some reviews, helps a lot with the direction of this. If you got any ideas, go ahead and throw 'em my way.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Freedom's Progress

"Is there a problem here?"

"I respect your abilities, Shepard. You're the best human soldier. However, what motivates you is what concerns me. For all we know, you could prove to be a liabilty for Cerberus."

Shepard snorted. "Are all Cerberus lapdogs like this? 'Concerned' for Cerberus?"

"Typical attitude. Cerberus is the best and only hope if humanity is to survive against the Reaper threat." replied the Cerberus operative.

"'Typical attitude'? I've seen what your people do. I had friends that died on Akuze because of you. You people are brutal."

"And what you did on Torfan wasn't?" Miranda asked calmly.

Shepard's face hardened, her stance went rigid. Her jaw clenched as memories flashed through her mind in a blur, the blood, the bodies, the stench of death.

"Torfan was necessary. I could've done differently. But I didn't." the N7 soldier replied stoically.

"In that case, Akuze was also necessary." Without another word, Miranda looked back to the terminal and began typing away, ignoring the seething commander.

_Shit_.

* * *

The colony was a ghost town. Not a single sound could be heard, not a single body could be found. Frankly, it was unnerving.

The trio had landed near the center of the colony, looking for clues or survivors. All they had found, to Shepard's dismay, were mechs. _I'm seriously getting tired of these pieces of metal._ After making quick work of them, they pushed forward, deeper into the heart of the colony.

The door swished opened, and Shepard quickly pulled out her pistol as she spotted various suited figures, Miranda and Jacob pulling their own respective guns.

"Stop right there!" a quarian ordered.

"Prazza, you said you'd let me handle this!" another quarian said, standing between the standoff. Her purple suit looked familiar to the commander. As she turned to face the commander, Shepard realized who this was.

"Tali? What are you doing here?" she asked, lowering her weapon and signaling to the others to do the same.

"S-Shepard? I thought... You were dead!"

"I was. Cerberus rebuilt me."

"How do I know it's actually you and not some clone?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"I helped you retrieve information about the Geth to help on your Pilgrimage. I trust it helped?"

Tali's stance relaxed and signaled her men to lower their weapons. "Yes... It helped. I still can't believe it's you."

Shepard smirked. "If you need more proof, I can tell you how many times you would stare at Garrus while he wasn't looking."

If the mask weren't in the way, Tali would be blushing. "Okay. It's you."

"I'm really sorry to break up the reunion," Miranda interrupted. "But we're wasting time here. I'd like to know what the quarians are doing here."

"I give the orders here, Lawson." Shepard said sternly. "You do, however, have a point. What _are_ you doing here, Tali?"

"One of our people was here on Pilgrimage. His name is Vector; we came to find him."

"Every one is dead or gone. What makes you think he survived?" Shepard asked.

"We saw him when we landed." the other quarian, Prazza, answered.

"That doesn't make sense." Jacob spoke. "If you saw him, why isn't he with you already?"

"Well... He's always been, um, nervous..." Tali managed.

"She means he's unstable." Prazza clarified. "His suit is damaged. Combine that with an open-air exposure and he's more than likely delirious."

"This Veetor is the only person who knows what happened here. We'll help you find him." Shepard said. "It's probably best if we split up, thoroughly search the colony."

"I agree. You'll need two teams to get past the weapons drones-"

"You want us to work for Cerberus?!" Prazza interrupted Tali, seemingly disgusted at the thought of working with Shepard.

"No, Prazza. I want you to work for me. If you can't follow orders, I don't want you in my team."

"Your people really don't like Cerberus." Shepard commented. "I mean, I don't either, but what happened to make the quarians distrust them so much?"

"They infiltrated the Flotilla, killed our people, and blew up one of our ships."

_Jesus, this guy just one shut up..._

"That's not how I would've put it. It wasn't anything personal." Miranda said coolly.

"Whatever the case may be," Shepard began, "We have to find Veetor. Afterwards, we can discuss who killed who later."

Tali agreed. "We work together to find Veetor."

"Make sure to keep radio contact." _Time to find out what happened here._

* * *

"Get down!" Shepard ordered, rolling out of the way of an incoming rocket.

Shepard and company had finally made it to the warehouse where Veetor was hiding. It was, however, guarded by a YMIR, a mech about three times the size of Shepard, able to shoot rockets, fire bullets, and was protected with shields and armor.

"This is going to be one tough son-of-a-bitch to take down." Miranda said as she took cover.

"We finally agree on something!" Shepard yelled back in response ad the explosions drowned out her voice.

"Any ideas?" Jacob asked, moving from crate to crate as the YMIR focused fire on him.

"Miranda, use Overload on its shields. Jacob, I want you to keep doing what you're doing." Shepard ordered.

"Running?" he panted.

"Pretty much! Now, Miranda!"

Miranda's omni-tool glowed as she sent an overload towards the mech, its shields being only slightly harmed. Jacob ran in circles as he shot the YMIR with his shotgun, doing little damage thanks to the shields. Shepard unloaded her assault rifle on the mech and, with another Overload from Miranda, the shields sparked dead.

Changing ammo, Shepard began firing in earnest, shooting the armored piece of metal until the orange hue of the armor faded into nothing. Giving it all they got, the trio destroyed the mech, running away quickly as it exploded, pieces of metal flying outward.

"I hate mechs." Shepard panted as she holstered her assault rifle to her back. "Come on, let's find this Veetor and get out of here."

After quickly checking in on Tali and the remaining quarians, Shepard, Jacob, and Miranda entered a small building which seemed to be the security office of the colony. A figure sat in front of various screens, typing away and muttering to itself.

"Veetor?" Shepard inquired.

"No Veetor. Not here. Monsters can't find him. Have to hide." was the response.

Shepard tried again. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Veetor did not respond.

"Great." Miranda began. "We come all the way here to find a blabbering idiot."

_I don't have time for this._

Pulling out her pistol, Shepard aimed at Veetor's direction.

"What are you-!"

The sound of Shepard's weapon firing blocked out the rest of Jacob's sentence. The bullet went right by Veetor's head, landing on one of the screens. The sound-and flying sparks-startled Veetor out of his delusion and at last noticed the Cerberus trio.

"You're human." Veetor said. "The monsters didn't find you?"

"We weren't here Veetor." Shepard responded. "But you were. Tell me what happened here."

"You don't know. You didn't see. But I see everything." With a click of a button, Veetor brought all six screens to life, showing security feed of what happened during the attack.

"He must of pieced it together manually." Miranda commented as the feed played.

The cameras passes by various pod-like things and finally focused on a tall, scaly figure.

"What the hell is that?" Jacob asked, disturbed by the creature o the screen.

"My God… I think it's a Collector." Miranda stated, her eyes widening slightly at the sight.

"The hell is a Collector?" Shepard inquired.

"They're an alien from beyond the Omega-4 Relay. Most people think they're a myth since they're not a common sight. More importantly, why are they attacking humans?"

"The Collectors have advanced technology." Jacob began. "They could have a weapon that disables an entire colony at once."

"The Seeker swarms. They find you." Veetor said. "Freeze you. Then the monsters take you away."

"How did you manage to hide, Veetor?"

"Monsters didn't know I was here." He responded.

"Maybe his enviro-suit kept him from coming up on the Collector's radar." Jacob suggested.

"Or they were using technology specifically designed to detect humans. After all, only human colonies have been targeted."

"The monsters will be back. They'll come back for me. No one escapes." Veetor warned, his hands trembling.

"I think that's all we're getting out of him, Commander."

Shepard sighed. The only witness was a crazy quarian that had some intel on these Collectors. At least it was more than they had before.

"Give me the information, Veetor." Katherine told the quarian.

"We should take him with us instead. We could question him in case he remembers more later." Miranda suggested.

Behind them, the sound of a door swishing open was heard as Tali entered the room. "What?!" she exclaimed. "Veetor is injured! He needs treatment, not an interrogation."

"We won't harm him." Jacob intervened. "We'll return him to your people unharmed."

"No. You can take the information from Veetor's omni-tool, but I'm taking him with me." Tali declared.

Shepard resisted sighing once more. "Every one calm down. I'm the one in charge here. Veetor will go with Tali, we'll get the info from his omni-tool."

"But-"

"I said Veetor goes with the quarians, Operative Lawson." Shepard interrupted Miranda before she could voice her argument.

"Understood, Commander." Miranda gave in, crossing her arms with a look of reproach.

Tali visibly calmed at Shepard's words. "Thank you, Shepard. I'm glad you're still the one giving the orders."

* * *

"Good job at Freedom's Progress. The intel we got from the quarian has proven to be quite helpful. And you also proved my suspicions correct."

"What do you mean? You knew about the Collectors?"

The head of Cerberus lightened his cigarette. "I had suspicions. I just had to make sure. If the Collectors are working for the Reapers, then we have to stop them."

Shepard reflected her decisions. She saw the Collectors. She wasn't sure what they wanted, but they attacked a human colony; more than one to be exact. Yet the thought of working with Cerberus… _I need their resources, I doubt the Alliance would help the resurrected Commander Shepard. Damn it._

"We need to stop them." She finally said. "But I need a team. A good one."

"I've already compiled a list of dossiers on some of the best people in the galaxy. Miranda will forward them to you."

"I had a team. What happened to them?"

"It's been two years, Commander. They've moved on. Some disappeared. I don't think they'll be able to help you."

_Damn it! I have to find her… Maybe at the Citadel._

"I found a pilot for you." The Illusive Man said. "I hear he's one of the best." A long draw at his cigarette. "I brought you back, Katherine Shepard. It's up to you to do the rest."

* * *

AN: So. I finally got to writing this. Seriously, I need to focus more on my fanfiction. I've been neglecting it far too long. Alright. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. Y'all are great! :D


End file.
